Faces, Places, and Memories
by Lightninging
Summary: Roy’s brigade is given an assignment in Riza & Roy’s hometown, to protect Riza’s slightly annoying aunt who’s been receiving death threats. Lots of faces and places from their past. Royai, later EdWin. Ch 3 up! OCs and all that good stuff!T for Ed's mouth
1. Chapter 1

A/N:

Okay, so this is my very first posted fanfic. I've been having some trouble uploading, so I really hope this works. D

Summary: Roy's brigade is given an assignment in Riza & Roy's hometown, to protect Riza's (slightly annoying) aunt who's been receiving death threats. Lots of faces and places from their past. ROYAI! Lots of OCs and all that good stuff!

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist, characters, storyline, etc etc. Too bad sooooooo sad. Authoress cries at her own harsh words But I'm guessing you knew that already. Rated K, maybe T in later chapters.

PLEASE review. Reviews are soooo helpful to newbies like me! Reviews determine the fate of this story! To be continued or not to be continued…

I created my own OCs, of which there will be many. The Becka, however, is NOT Rebecca from the manga- the name fit the character, and I got this idea a looong time ago, before I knew about Rebecca.

So now, I present:

Faces, Places, and Memories

Roy's POV:

"Hey, chief. I got a special assignment here, straight from the Fuhrer." Havoc waved an envelope in Colonel Mustang's face.

"Oh, did we? Details, Havoc." the Colonel said.

"Heunh? Oh, it's bodyguarding. Some old banker lady who's been receiving death threats."

"_Bodyguarding_?" The colonel said with a frown. He never got bodyguard assignments; _I'm -we all are- to far up the ranks for that._

"Yep. We were 'specially requested'," Havoc said, making air quotes.

..._too far up unless we're asked for, _Roy thought with a frown. "Exactly who was requested, Havoc?" Maybe he could get out of it if Fuery or Breda had been requetsed, decline it for them. They ranked too low for requests to have to be acknowledged.

"Our brigade was. Or rather, Lieutenant Hawkeye was. So the rest of us come along." Havoc stated, chomping on his cigarette noisily.

_Man, we're stuck with it. Oh well, that means less paperwork for a while. This can't be that bad, it'll be like a mini-vacation. With lots of girls who will admire me and my rank. Wait- Hawkeye?! Who would request _Hawkeye_? Interesting..._

Riza's POV:

_Whaaat? Me, requested? That's ridiculous! Who would..._"I was requested, was I? By whom?" her tone displayed none of her inner turmoil as she arched an eyebrow and got a new report to be signed.

"One Daria Lanston, of Wishing Springs. Never heard of her or the town. Do ya know her, Lieutenant?" Havoc read off the assignment, looking questioningly at Riza.

"Yes, she's my aunt. And Wishing Springs is where I grew up."

A loud groan from across the room interrupted them. Apparently, Mustang had not been really been daydreaming. "Ooooohhhh, noooo. The one who hated your cooking and loved pink? With the big new house that she wanted you to move into?"

"Unfortunately, yes. My father's sister. She hated alchemy and the military. Never approved of my dad's job, really. Or mine." Hawkeye said, musing. _She's ignored me all these years. I haven't even talked to her since I left eight years ago, just the occasional letter. Wow, it really has been eight years. Can't say I'm looking forward to seeing her again, but Trivva and Becka will be there too! God, how long has it been since I've sent them a letter? I'll write one later,_she thought, remembering how her two childhood friends had squealed whenever they got something in the mail.

"Ummm, sir? What are you talking about? How does the colonel know your aunt? Would someone please explain?" Feury's face was wrinkled in confusion as he looked from one person to the next.

"Oh yeeaaaaaaaah, no one's ever bothered to fill little Feury in on that detail yet, have they?" Havoc laughed, and said "Well, ya see, once upon a time-" a mischievous look on his face.

"My alchemy _sensei _was Lieutenant Hawkeye's father, Nathaniel Hawkeye. I lived with Hawkeye _sensei-_and subsequently Lt. Hawkeye- while I was studying with him. Hawkeye _sensei_discovered flame alchemy, after all, so where else would I have learned it?" Roy lectured a shocked Feury, whose mouth was hanging open in surprise. "Close your mouth. The aunt who Hawkeye was referring to-"

"Was the one to whose house I was sent to whenever my father... was too busy. My mother died when I was four, and when I was too much of a nuisance to my father and his research I was sent to her house. More of a mansion, really. When my father died, she offered me a home, but I joined the military. She'd always wanted a daughter to dress up and serve tea to." Riza's mouth twisted wryly. _She always had those stupid parties, lasting until all hours of the night, and she would force me to wear __**pink!**_

"Uhh, pink, sir?" Feury looked, if it was possible, even more puzzled.

"Nothing, Feury. Here, I have a picture." Hawkeye opened her desk drawer and pulled out a picture frame as the men crowded around. It wasn't Riza's _favourite_ picture of herself, but her Aunt Daria was in it, so it would have to do. It depicted a large woman with blonde hair in a tidy blue skirt and white blouse, holding the hand of a little girl about seven years old. They were standing in front of a large Victorian-style house (A/N: Not quite as big as the Armstrong's but still pretty good sized.) on a grassy slope. The little girl was blonde as well, with long wavy hair and familiar side-swept bangs. She had been forced into a purple ruffled dress- _thank God the dress wasn't pink, but how did she get a bow in my hair?- _and looked like right there was the last place she wanted to be. She had a grass stain on one knee and was giving the photographer a familiar glare with big amber eyes, her smile forced. Daria had a big, happy smile for the camera, and was holding Riza's hand tightly as though worried she might run away. Which, if Riza remembered correctly, she had. Twice. She inwardly groaned at the memory.

"Hey, is that _you_?" Breda looked as though he was having an asthma attack as his face turned red from suppressed laughter.

Hawkeye glared at him, the same look the little girl in the photo was wearing. "Yea, as a matter of fact it is. Is there a problem with that?"

"No, no, no. Just- you're, you're-"

"Yes?"

"Wearing a _dress_."

Roy decided to intervene- Riza's look was becoming dangerous. "Okay, everyone, so we're boarding the two o'clock train to Wishing Springs tomorrow."

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AFS: Hmmmmmmm, too short for my tastes. it looked longer on paper.

Roy: Yeah, maybe because you have the weirdest notebook ever. I mean, spirals at the _top_?

AFS: So what if it's weird? _I_ still love you, notebook! (strokes notebook and glares at Roy) (Notebook changes into Envy)

Roy: I didn't know you could do that!

Envy: There are a lot of things you don't know! Muahahaha! (runs from the room)

AFS: Ahhhhhhhh! My stories! Hey, you, change back into my notebook this instant! (runs after Envy)

Roy: Oooh, she wrote some end comments. Ok, how do you work this keyboard...types quickly

sdbfuhonIJKnHJHKJSDUWN863Y8THVKnkthf895b

Roy: Now I've got it.

AFS: Sorry, I had to stop there as I wanted to try to post it. Not the best stopping place- I cut that scene short but oh well.

More action, fluffiness, and DRAMA in later chapters. If I get reviews I will definitely continue!

So? What do you think? To OOC? Not a good story? Awesome and amazing? Horrid and horrifyingly bad? THE REVIEW BUTTON CALLS!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Okay, sorry everyone, this update was a long time in coming! I HAVE AN EXCUSE!:

_My '__a' key was broken- you cannot type ANYTHING without an 'a' key, hmph._

Summary: Roy's brigade is given an assignment in Riza & Roy's hometown, to protect Riza's (slightly annoying) aunt who's been receiving death threats. Lots of faces and places from their past. ROYAI! Lots of OCs and all that good stuff!

Disclaimer:

Me: C'mere, boy! C'mon! Fetch! Yeah! Fetch!  
Disclaimer (complete with long silver hair and dog demon ears, suspiciously like InuYasha): Hey! Don't treat me like a dog!  
Me: Just do your job...  
Disclaimer: Why should I? Hmph... I am a demon!  
Me: You're only a half-demon. Hah. And anyway... don't make me... say it!  
Disclaimer: (cowers in fear) The extraordinarily annoying, lazy authoress-  
Me: SIT, boy! SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT!  
Disclaimer: (crashes into the floor face first) I mean, the authoress does not own FullMetal Alchemist or InuYasha, from which I have been summoned with a philosopher's stone/Shikon Jewel shard just for disclaimer duty...  
Me: Unfortunately, I _am_ incredibly lazy and do not like typing stuff I already have written out. But I also must write out a story before I can type it. So, ummm... paradoxical _much_?

PLEASE review. Reviews are soooo helpful to newbies like me! Reviews determine the fate of this story! To be continued or not to be continued…

I created my own OCs, of which there will be many. The Becka, however, is NOT Rebecca from the manga- the name fit the character, and I got this idea a looong time ago, before I knew about Rebecca.

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Faces, Places, and Memories Chapter Two

A young Riza is sitting in the branches of an old oak tree on her Aunt Daria's estate, daydreaming. About Evil Plans. Her PoV.

Swinging her feet, Riza wondered impatiently when they would get there. She had their bucket of ice water and soap all ready, but there was no place to set it down up here. She was sitting on the only flat part, and the thing was _heavy_. She idly considered dumping it on Trivva and Becka's heads, just for making her wait such a long time, then quickly discarded the idea. The three nine-year-olds had worked on this revenge plan all morning, and had to put it in motion before Aunt Daria called her in for lunch. She guiltily glanced up the sloping lawn towards the mansion- she _was_ in sight of the party room windows, so that rule wasn't broken. Yet. But-

"Come _on, _Roy, we have to show you _now_!" Trivva's bossy tones carried on the breeze.

"What is it, anyway? Alchemy?" The young Roy's eager voice came from the hedge bordering the garden. Three bobbing heads were coming down the path, Trivva's red curls leading with Becka's brown waves bringing up the end. In the middle was their target- the top of Roy's head was just visible from her vantage point.

Becka's soft, kind voice said, "You'll see. We promise it's something really good."

"Where's Miss Riza? I'm not sure I trust you two." Roy was suspicious.

"Oh, she went in for lunch." Becka blithely lied.

"Oh." (A/N: Yes, Roy is extremely gullible, but... artistic license, people!)

"Right over here..." Trivva took special care to sound innocent.

"Where? There's nothing special here." The group was right underneath Riza's tree. Roy was looking around, obviously confused.

"Riiiiiiiiiiight... _here_!" Trivva giggled as she shouted the signal phrase. A cascade of ice-cold, soapy, lemon-juicy water poured on poor Roy's head. The sopping wet alchemy apprentice was _angry_. "Hey! What was th-that for?" Roy shivered in the summer breeze.

"Pushing Becka into the ocean last Saturday." young Riza said matter-of-factly. (is _young_ capitalized? Grammar help here, please?)

_Just like it had been all those years ago... _But then the dream started to change, to morph from a vision of the past into a nightmare scene as time froze around them.

"Loyal to a fault, little Riza, aren't you? Two steps behind, always two steps behind someone. Isn't that right? But why him, Riza dear, why him?" The young Roy changed, shimmering into a monster straight out of her fairytale book when she was four. A slimy, black-skinned, twisted horror-movie-character with glowing red eyes.

"What...Who...Where's Roy?!" Hawkeye used her commanding officer's first name, subconsciously ignoring the rules of 'Mr. Mustang', 'Colonel', and 'Sir' established unbreakably all those years ago. The rules established in her mind, but in her heart...

"Why would _you_ care?" The monster narrowed his eyes and clapped his clawed hands, like a joyful child on Christmas morning. "But of course, little Riza dear, I forgot. You _love_ him. Don't you?" The monster grinned when Hawkeye didn't answer right away.

"No. I don not love him. That is not allowed. I simply... respect him. Loving him is against the rules." Those rules, unbreakable. Always there. A wall, both protecting and limiting. For if you cannot leave your safe refuge, nothing can ever happen. Rules as strict as the laws of gravity. the laws which kept her from jumping the fifteen feet to the ground right now and _strangling_ the answer out of the monster.

"Oho! 'Loving him is against the rules'. Then you don't deny you really love him." The fiend grinned at her, hideous teeth bared.

"Stop avoiding the question!" she shouted crossly. She was really, _really_ angry at this... _thing_. "_What... have... you... done... with... ROY?!_"

"Hmmm. Well, hate to hafta be the one to break it to ya, but..." the creature giggle, smirking. (Wow. Evil creature _giggling_? My mind come sup with such odd things...)

"But WHAT?!"Riza Hawkeye was officially at her breaking point. If only her nine-year-old self had guns...

"He's dead. You know, dead. Gone. Poof. Passed away. Passed on. In heaven. In hell. that sort of thing." the _thing_ grinned at her, pulling an adult Roy's dead body from behind the tree. The corpse had no plce in this world, a world of innocence and childhood. Her friend's faces had gone gray and smudged, the sunlight frozen before it reached the earth. Time itself was gone... '_T__his wasn't how it went...' _some concious part of her whispered. The rest of her was frozen in shock. Only water... like the rain... that was all. That was all they'd dumped on him. A joke... Water from the sky, like the rain... '_he's useless in the rain...' _ a part of her reminded her. Did she kill him? She protected him... _She was supposed to protect him... _this wasn't right...

"Haven't you figured it out yet? You're at a crossroads, little Riza. You've been dillydallying there too long. Choose a future. Either one where you admit you love him, or one where you continue to deny it. I am at the end of one of them. You won't know which until you get there, so... you'll just have to _take a risk_."

With the nightmare creature's manic laughter echoing in her ears, she sat bolt upright in her bed. She was at home. In her bed. In the middle of the night. Her home _now,_ not then. Just a dream. _Just a dream_. She laid back on her pillow, calmed her breathing, and went back to sleep.

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Roy's PoV:

"Okay men, here we are. The two o'clock train to Wishing Springs. The only one for another week- lucky timing huh?" Roy swept his arm towards the steam engine, where a conductor's boarding shout could be faintly heard. The group was in civilian dress, as they would be the entire mission. _Hmm, Ri- Lieutenant Hawkeye is _late_. How rare. _The same barriers were in his heart, too. Protecting, limiting walls of titles and formality...

"Um, sir? Did First Lieutenant Hawkeye... get the wrong time?" A nervous Feury seemed positive that there was no way _Riza Hawkeye_ could be _late_.

Roy smirked."Oh, i gave her the right time. I'm sure of it. Perhaps the Lieutenant is simply..._late_." The famous Mustang smirk widened. (A/N: gasps of horror!)

"Oh..."Feury was at a loss for words, anime sweatdropping.

"The one and only Lieutenant Hawkeye... twenty minutes late?" Havoc seemed to enjoy the thought.

"It appears so." Roy was starting to worry- there was no sign of his rogue Lieutenant on the rainy train platform. _Wait...since when have I started thinking of her in the possessive? _ He tried to shake off the anxious feeling like a dog shakes off water. He scanned the gray, drizzly streets around the station. The weak afternoon sunlight seemed to be having a hard time making its way through the thick gray clouds. Nothing coming down the streets to the north, the east, train tracks to the south, the west, the east again..Roy turned in a circle. They were about to board, and she was really late. _Where was she?!_

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Okay. Short, yeah, but I just wanted to get it uploaded today. Got a little drama and angst out of my system... Not where I thought I'd end it, but like i said, I wanted to upload it. Kind of a cliffie

Ummm... PLEASE REVIEW! Especially you, Julia!(You know who you are! Your fanfic name is too long to type out.) Reviews are cookies for my soul! TLL ME WHAT YOU THINK! more coming soon now that my 'a' key is fixed! Who knew banging it really hard would actually fix it...

PLEASE TELL ME, IN A REVIEW, if I should bring Ed, Al, and Winry in in the next chapter. I think I may, I think I might...

_No, Julia, it's not going where you said it should go. That would take too much away from the main plot, sorry. But it was a good suggestion!_


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own FMA, and I've run out of creative disclaimer ideas- none of them really worked on paper. Or keyboard. Or... you get the point.

Jeez, guys, read the first two chapters if you really want to know all my little author notes! Anyways, here's the short version: Becka is not the Rebecca from the manga, and there are OCs. (gasp!) If you've decided just to read this chapter and skipped the others, or something randomly similar... I really don't think that's the brightest idea.

Now: Thanks to the reviewers!  
fAteD lOvE: well, took me a few tries to get your name right. I'll try to put fewer author notes in, and make it less chaotic. I hardly ever have time to actually sit down and write- I write in little, sentence-at-a-time, two-minute-long bits. I haven't had _any_ free time lately.  
Annoyed by you: Thankies! Glad you liked it!  
Vampirelover2009: Thanks! As you're the only person who actually answered my question about wether or not Ed, Al, and Winry should be in the next chapter, this is for you.  
Wolf.82: Thank you so much for reviewing this chapter too. Your little promise means so much to me. :)  
UrawakaiPisces: Yes, Julia, I know. Your fanfic name is just sooooooooo confusing. Thanks anyway. :) I had too get a little bit of drama out of my system there...

Well, guys sorry for the long time between updates, but my computer was forcibly removed 'until further notice'. I am actually using my dad's right now while he, my mom, and my little brother are at a family friend's 50th birthday party. I was given a choice of whether or not to go, and as I had _high school placement tests_ (AHHH!) this morning and had to get up _really_ early, I get to stay home. And update! Since my computer was taken, I have 3 more chappies of this and 4 oneshots/drabbles completed in my notebook. I will post them ASAP, as I have 2 hrs of computer time and counting...

Okay. Chapter three. Here goes.

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Riza's PoV:

She could see the train station from where she was now. She was breathing hard, suitcase and dog leash in hand, running as best she could down the crowded street. The other passengers were boarding, and the faint shouts of the conductors could be heard. Her brigade didn't seem to be waiting for her, either. She reached up to brush a stray wisp of hair out of her face and remembered her hair was down._ No... no... wait up, you idiots! _Black Hayate was practically pulling her arm off, the train doors were closing, and _they_ weren't about to wait for her, or so it seemed. She'd slept through her alarm clock after her dream, or more accurately nightmare, last night. That was the second time she'd done that in a month- the last had been on her day off, thank god. That one, though, had been a simple Ishval nightmare, a regular occurrence plaguing all Ishval veterans. But last night's, though... Every moment, every word was crystal clear, more like a memory and less like a dream. As though it was real and sh- _toot toot!_ The train whistle! The train! It was leaving! And she wasn't on it! _Oh no... what else can go wrong today?! _Just as Riza stumbled onto the platform, the train stopped. _Huh?_ Feury leaned out of the driver's carriage and shouted "Get in!"

A car door near her opened, and Roy -_C__olonel Mustang-_ leaned out. "Lieutenant! Riza? Riza! C'mon!" he called, seeing her hesitate.

She stepped up through the carriage door, passing uncomfortably close to Roy -_Colonel Mustang-_ as she hauled her suitcase up the little stairs, the colonel thoughtfullyholding the door open for her. The train started moving with a jerk just as she closed the door, and Lieutenant Hawkeye, off balance in the small space in the little space in the connector car, fell hard against Roy's chest.

Roy's 1stPerson! PoV:

I couldn't help it. When Riza- I mean Lieutenant Hawkeye, ah who am I kidding? She's Riza to me, always has been- when she fell on top of me, my body decided to rebel against my brain. My arms wrapped around her for a split second, _just_ a split second, just long enough to put me off balance. Just at the right time to knock us over, into the door of the carriage opposite ours. That door, of course, opened, courtesy of a certain short (A/N: I promised some Ed!) blonde and irritated state alchemist. Shortmetal fell backwards, Riza's suitcase on top of him and Black Hayate licking his face.

"Sir! Ma'am! Are you okay? We- Edward?" The last Falman directed at the groaning shrimp on the floor behind me. I sat up, feeling the sore spot on my head. looking to my left I saw Riza, who was standing up, getting her suitcase off Ed. _Hell! I'm the only one who fell? In front of the shrimp? And Riza?_ Wait something's wrong with this picture...

"Fullmetal?" He was the one thing missing from this circus. But didn't he apply for a vacation a few days ago? He must be off duty...

"What the _hell_ are you doing here?" The shortie and I said at the same time.

Riza's PoV:

"Hello, Edward. I assume Alphonse is here as well then?" Riza got Black Hayate off Ed's face, brushed herself off.

"Yes, Ma'am. And Winry is here too." Edward sounded meek now, but then again _no one_ was rude to Riza Hawkeye.

Roy painfully picked himself up off the floor." Well, _Edward_, since we're all off duty or undercover we're supposed to drop the titles. Right, Riza?" He made her name sound almost like a caress.

"Yes, si- Roy. Yes, Roy." His name sounded awkward and intrusive in her mouth. _Oh god! Why'd he have to say that? Have me say that? _Even if his name was popping up too often in her daydreams these days.

"So, Ed, what brings you to our compartment?" _Roy_ asked.

"Oh, nothing much. Just… vacationing." Ed tried to pass off the lie with a smile and a wave.

_Wishing Springs hasn't been on the vacation list since I was five. Too small, not enough of a beach, cold ocean… _"Really, Edward. To Wishing Springs?"

"Yep! I hear it's a nice little town. Quiet, peaceful, warm water and great beach. We passed trough there a few weeks ago, decided to go back, and- hey, this train makes multiple stops. How'd you know that's where we were going?"

_It has to have something to do with the Philosopher's Stone, something he doesn't want us to know about. Could Aunt Daria's death threats and the Stone be connected somehow? _"Exactly. Edward, I grew up in Wishing Springs. Now. why really?"

Roy laughed. "Oh, Ed. You were pwned!"

"Shut it, Bastard Colonel. I can't tell you why." Edward growled.

Riza glared at them both. "Does it have something to do with- look, Ed. Let's close the door and talk about this in there, where no one else can hear." She glared around at the compartment full of people, most of who were discreetly eavesdropping.

"Yes, Ma'am." Edward walked into the military compartment, the rest of the group, including Winry and Al, following. Riza closed the door and turned around. Everyone seated themselves in various seats, then turned to face Edward.

"So, Ed." Roy leaned his elbows on his knees and scrutinized the short blonde. "Why are you really here?"

"Well, Al and I got wind of a possibility of a Philosopher's Stone being handed off there. Something about a banker, merchant woman someone being involved in a handoff under death threats? Yeah, ummm, something like Landon or Lanton." Ed thought out loud.

"Lanston." Roy and Riza supplied together.

"Daria Lanston. She's my aunt. That's why we're here. She _has _been receiving death threats, and she requested us as bodyguards. She didn't include any detiails in the letter, though. Hmm. Philosopher's Stone tradeoff. Well, I suppose we'll find out when we get there. The house can fit 3 more if we squeeze. There are five bedrooms, each can fit two, and someone can have the couch downstairs."

"Five bedrooms? Only one couch?" Roy looked puzzled "But-"

Riza grimaced. "No one gets my dad's bedroom, nor the couch in the study. For obvious reasons."

Ed was listening closely, unable to decipher how Roy knew all that. "Huh? How do you know all that?"

"Be polite, ED!" Winry hissed.

"Yeah yeah Winry. But Colonel Bastard-"

Roy sighed. "Oh god, Fullmetal. I'm tired of explaining this. I studied alchemy unde Riza's father, Hawkeye-sensei. He discovered flame alchemy. I lived in their house while I was studying with him. Happy?"

"He _discovered_ flame alchemy? Does he still live there? Can I meet him? Wow, he must be _good._ Could he teach me?" Ed babbled, overexcited.

_No, Ed. I'm sorry. That knowledge is not for just anybody. _Riza turned her head away, and said sharply. "He's dead. He died 8 years ago."

At the same time, Roy snapped, "_No,_ she certainly _cannot_ teach you. There is _no way_ I am letting _you_ see _that._"

Ed turned slowly towards Roy. "I-I'm sorry Lieutenant. But Mustang- you mean _Lieutenant Hawkeye_ was the one who taught you flame alchemy? And see _what_?" Ed had a sneaky, conniving look on his face.

Roy cringed into his seat. "Edward. You... you can't... you can't see the research."

_Oh god. Oh god. Roy! He's never going to let it go now! You __idiot! You just had to mention_ research!

Roy's PoV:

_Oh hell._

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Kind of a cliffie. But what will happen? (cheesy announcer voice) Will they all find out the secret on Riza's back? Poor Roy gave it away when he got all jealous there, hehe. Bad Roy! Oh, i love tormenting him just too much.

Soooooo... how was it? Review! You get cookies! And please, _please _say more than 'Awesome chapter! I can't wait for the next one!' I mean, that's nice and all, and I'm glad that you're taking time to review (especially if you liked it) but could you please say, "I liked the part where Ed fell off the train (oops, has that happened yet? If not, sorry)" or "I like how you had good adjectives/good grammar/good spelling/good plot etc etc. Not that I don't prize each and every review, but it's really helpful if you say what's good &/or bad about it. That way I can get rid of the bad parts next chapter (i.e. bad spelling, bad grammar, etc etc) and put in more 'good stuff'. I'm also slightly OCD about typos, so please tell me about those... Thankies for reading!

~Rina

P.S. Review and please tell me what FMA story you think should be typed up/posted next-

~Just a Chess Game (Royai drabbly thing on what Riza means to him)  
~Alter Reality (Fluff drabbly thing about Ed meeting Roy & Riza on the other side of the gate)  
~Songfic to Viva la Vida (Royai)  
~Fall Gatherings (Oneshot, Royai, EdWin, etc, about a little party at the Hughes' (live Hughes!) where Riza, Winry, and Gracia have to make dessert...)  
~Chapter Four FacesPlacesMemories  
~Snow Angels (another Royai drabbly thingy, snowballs, snow angels, Roy's brigade... {yeah I really like Royai.})


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: No, I have not died. I was on vacation, and then evil teachers decided to dump a load of homework on us just in time for rehearsals to start going full-time and end-of-the-semester tests... *sigh* my life is major-ly stressful right now. In fact, **my life sucks right now,** quite frankly. I am technically doing private school admission essays right now, right mom? **SO sorry about the lack of updates**, but the good news is I have 5 or 6 other oneshots and another 4 whole FPM chappies *gasp* written up, just need time to type after life stops being a b**ch to me...

Disclaimer: No own. Will not own. Will never own. Nothing more needs to be said.

Reviewer Notes:  
~J-chan (AKA UrawakaiPisces): thankies for the compliments! But if you like the relationship just finish the effin' manga already!!  
annoyed by you: thank you! I'm going to type up all my oneshots soon.  
~Orange Singer: Thanks! Here's the next chapter! And yes, Roy has seen the tattoo. That's how he learned flame alchemy after her father was dead. I'm 88.72% sure Hawkeye-sensei discovered it...  
~Sweetdeath04: This fic is going to go on for a while, and I haven't gotten the action, or drama, or angst really started yet. *wicked smile* So if you stick with it it'll get even better. (I hope...)  
~Vampirelover2009: Glad I amused someone!! (*glares at J-chan*)  
~Vi-Violence: I'm reading the manga/ watching the anime in all my free time when I'm not writing or reading/watching something else... Ed was slightly spazzy, but then he _was_ locked in a train car with a Roy who was withholding new alchemy information...  
~Wolf.82: Pretty sure the spazzy Ed parts are done for now, everyone.  
~Sheepisasin: Thankies! But Ed is done with being annoying for now.  
~Riniel-chan (AKA EowynsPen): Keep reading!! Or else I will come for you with Roy's snappy gloves. Remember, I know where you live. (*Looks in pockets* I have the address here somewhere...)  
~CW: Glad you like the PoV switching. I was worried it might get confusing... It's not on purpose though- it just seems to work out that way...

Phew, all done. Now for the hard(er) part...

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Roy's PoV:

"Well? Can you show me? Why not?" Edward insisted, glaring daggers at Roy.

"Uh-uh...Uh?" Roy spluttered, at a complete loss for words. Which is, as we all know, not something that happens very often.

_Come on. Think of something. Snap out a quick, _coherent_ answer._

"Brother..." Al put a calming hand on his _shorter_ brother's shoulder. "Maybe Lieutenant Hawkeye has a good reason she can't show us. When will you ever learn to think, Brother?" the suit of armour sighed.

_Yes. A very, very good reason. There's no way I'm letting that shrimp see her back... After all, this is one reason Hughes would approve of- after all, he _was_ always telling me to get a wife..._

"For you information, Al, I _can_ think just fine." Ed growled as-

_BANG!!!_ Winry's wrench had found target number 5628: Ed's head. A solid thunk echoed through the train car as Ed's head was whacked into the window. "Stop being so rude Ed! I'm very sorry Lieu- uh, Miss Riza." Winry glared at Ed, turning to Hawkeye with a smile and changing the subject. "I was wondering- do you know a good place to stay in town? Inexpensive and maybe a little inconspicuous?"

"Hmm. The only inn is Mickey Dalonney's place (A/N: I know someone named this with a one-letter difference, so...). But I don't even know if it still exists. But he's very kind, keeps clean rooms, and everyone in the whole town ends up there at least once a day. If you want your information, just ask around there." Riza suggested with a shrug.

"But don't expect it to be inconspicuous _at all._" Roy jumped in with a grin. "You ask one person about the philosopher's stone- or even about Daria- and the whole town'll know by noon next day. Small towns are so annoying."

Ed objected, "We're not going to be obvious about it. We've had a lot of practice, not that you'd know anything."

Roy shrugged. "Suit yourself, Fullmetal. But _any_ travellers will be the subject of half a billion rumours, especially since you're not the most normal tourists. And you're connected to us, and you're another famous state alchemist, his brother, and is- ah- _childhood friend _to boot. No, Fullmetal, you are probably the most conspicuous person I have ever met, excepting myself, of course."

Ed glared at the smirking Mustang. "So, Colonel Bastard, what do _you_ suggest we do?"

Winry looked up from where she and Hawkeye had been quietly conferring in the corner. "Miss Riza suggested earlier- well, first things first. Ed, you act as another state alchemist in Mustang's escort, Al and I your alchemist brother and mechanic, as usual. So then-"

"_Yeah_?" Ed said suspiciously.

"_So _then you'll be a lot less conspicuous."

"Yeah. What was the other thing?"

"Well, we'd have to stay with them. Like... like we said earlier?"

"Okay."

Winry breathed a sigh of relief. "So you're okay with that? It's all good? Oh, phew. or a moment there I was worried you'd be upset."

"Why would I be upset? As long as the hotel you guys are staying at is decent." Ed shrugged noncommittally.

Winry and Riza exchanged looks. Roy looked up with a start. Huh? _Wait a second..._ No-one said a word as Roy sat up, petrified for a moment, and started frantically waving his hands in the air. "Wa-wait a minute. Lieu-uh-Miss-uh- Riza! You can't just invite them to stay with us like that!!" _No. NO way am I staying in Hawkeye-sensei's old house with _him_ for a month! Gah! That creepy old house is bad enough on its own, but with _Fullmetal _too!_

"Well, you didn't say anything five minutes ago." Hawkeye remarked dryly.

_Yeah, I wasn't exactly paying attention! Other things had my attention..._

"Well," Riza continued, "It is my house, therefore I get to decide who to invite."

"WAIT!! A- a HOUSE?!?!?!? I- I have to share a fuckin' HOUSE with HIM?!?!" Ed flailed around, not liking the new turn of events. "NO! No way am I ever, _ever _going to do that! Not in a million years! Never, ever-"

Winry winced. "It's her old family estate-"

Ed flailed some more. "NO!!!"

Roy glared at him. "Not even if it leads you to the philosopher's stone?" Ed drooped, the fight going out of him. "Look Edward, I don't exactly relish the thought of living in the same house as you either. But if it'll further your cause-" Roy shrugged. "I never withheld information from you unless it was for your own good, Fullmetal. I _am _trying to help you, you know."

Everyone looked at Roy, who shrugged and said, "But then, it's not like he'll take up much room anyway, he's so short," to cover up his unusual show of affection.

Ed exploded. "WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT HE COULD BE BEST FRIENDS WITH A MINI MARSHMALLOW?!"

~And it all kind of went downhill from there...~

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Winry's PoV:

At long last, Winry could see the station in the distance- she was going crazy. But then, three hours of taunts, short rants, and general insults back and forth between Ed and Roy would drive anyone crazy. _At least everyone will- hopefully- be out and about all day, so I'll only have to deal with this in the evenings, _Winry thought gratefully. A glance at Riza showed she was having similar thoughts.

"Wishing Springs Station, everyone. Hope you had a good trip. Please disembark if this is your final destination, if not please stay in your compartment. Thank you, and all of us from the Central-Amestrian Railroad line hope you had a good trip." The crackly announcer's voice echoed throughout the train as it pulled into the platform. The station, and the town behind it, didn't appear particularly large or elegant. A simple station- covered tacks and wood platform, benches, and a ticket booth. The town past it was a few blocks of modest wood-and-brick building, including an inn, a pharmacy, grocery store, a few shops, a hardware store -_Wonder how fast I can get there-_ and a dozen or so medium-sized houses. A few roads led out of town, houses spread out along them -_Wonder which house is Riza's-_ , and she could see a lake and beach in the distance.

The train ground to a halt and everyone stood up and stretched. "Finally. We're here!! We're free! I can ESCAAAAAPE!!!!!" Ed shouted, grabbing his suitcase, sprinting off the train in a cloud of dust, only to come to a stop and gaze around wondering where the heck he was.

"BROTHER! Come back!" Al raced after Ed.

As the rest of the group disembarked in a more timely fashion, Riza glanced out the window and smiled- a smile that quickly turned into a grimace. "Oh, no." she muttered.

"What is it, Miss Riza?" Winry asked sweetly.

"See that blonde woman out there?" Riza pointed out the window as Winry gazed at another spot. "No, not the one with the kids. The one standing with the other two women."

"Yeah?" Havoc asked, picking up someone's suitcase.

"The blonde woman is my aunt, Daria Lanston. Winry, stay away from her if you can. The rest of you have no choice but to meet her." Riza's announcement was greeted with curious stares and a few confused expressions.

"Oh, you'll see why," Roy said softly.

Riza continued, "The brunette is my friend Becka Medane. The redhead is Trivva Kenskey, another friend. Do NOT listen to anything Colonel Mustang-" Roy glared at her "-I mean Roy- says about her. He simply holds a grudge because she once devised a plan to dump a bucket of soapy ice water on his head." With those parting words, Riza picked up her suitcase and walked away with dignity.

"This Trivva dumped a bucket of ice water on your head?" Feury asked wonderingly.

"No," Mustang said, disgruntled. "Lieutenant Hawkeye did." He stalked out the door onto the platform just in time for-

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!" A screaming blur mobbed Lieutenant Hawkeye almost as soon as she stepped off the train. "OH MY GOD!!!! Rizzy!!! It's really you!" The blur solidified into two screaming young women. One of the women- Winry couldn't even tell which- shrieked "Rizzy! We have so much to tell you! EEEEEE!!" After a moment the redhead -_Trivva_- stepped back, a silly grin on her face as she bounced uncontrollably as the brunette -_Becka_- hugged Riza.

"Who are they?! Who are they?! Ooooh, it's HIM!" Trivva repeated at high spee, eyes scanning the rest of the group and resting on Mustang.

"Meep!" the lion-hearted colonel squeaked, moving behind Havoc. The other's mouths hung open, as they stood frozen, unable to do anything but stare.

"It's good to be back, guys. Thanks. But DON'T call me Rizzy!" Hawkeye half-laughed, half-scolded, half-cried.

"Fine. Riza- what did you do to your hair?!" Becka exclaimed. Hawkeye had re-clipped her hair as soon as she boarded the train, so the length was not immediately noticeable.

"It grew, Becka. What did you think?"

"Well, unclip it then." Trivva demanded sternly. Riza dutifully removed the hairclip and shook out the golden strands.

"Ooh, that's pretty Rizzy. But look at this! I've been waiting and waiting to tell you!" Trivva jumped excitedly from one subject to the next as she proudly displayed a shiny diamond engagement ring.

Riza's eyes widened. "Jon," she said with a smile

"Yes and he's soooooooo sweet and sooooooooo perfect and-"

Becka slapped Trivva's arm lightly to stop the redhead's gushing. "Don't get her started. She's almost as bad as you talking about-" Riza's icy glare stopped her mid-sentence. "Hehee... Just kidding. You _never_ talk about him anyway, I mean. It's kinda annoying... So, who are they?" she asked conversationally, waving an arm at the rest of the group.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Hawkeye straightened, military demeanor suddenly returning. "Everyone, this is Trivvasha -Trivva- Kenskey and Becka Modane. Trivva, Becka, this is Master Sergeant Kain Feury-"

"Hello, Miss Kenskey. Miss Modane."

"Warrant Officer Vato Falman-"

"Hello. Pleasure to meet you."

"??? Heymans Breda-" (A/N: I have been looking this up for the last 1/2 hour and cannot find his rank... anyone care to tell me?)

"Hello."

"Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc-"

"Hey."

"You know the colonel-"

"What? I don't get an introduction?"

"Major Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist-"

"Hello! Happy to meet you!" Ed smiled and waved.

Roy grumbled, "Yeah, sure, give the pipsqueak an intro-"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT HE MUST BE AN ANT CHIMERA, YOU JERK!?!"

"Oh, I don't know, Fullmetal, are your ears as small as the rest of you?!"

"At least _I _can..."

The rest of the group quietly edged away from the bickering alchemists to continue their introductions. "Edward's brother, Alphonse, who can't take off the armour for special reasons-"

"Hello, ma'am. I apologize for my brother's behaviour, he's a little sensitive about his height."

"And Edward's mechanic, Winry Rockbell."

"Hello!" Another smile and wave.

"Mechanic?" Becka looked curiously at Riza.

"Ed's right arm is automail, and so is left leg, knee down." Winry answered quietly.

"Winry's the best automail mechanic in the whole world- even Brother admits it." Al stated proudly.

"I better go get them. C'mon, Al." Winry dragged Ed away from his spat with Roy just as-

"Uh-oh, here she comes." Mustang whimpered, ducking behind Havoc as Daria Lanston made her (slow) way towards them from the fruit stand.

"Elizabeth, dearie!" came the trilling call.

Hawkeye's small, genuine smile of a moment before vanished as she briefly closed her eyes. "Hello, Ms. Lanston," she said through a pasted-on smile.

"Oh, my dear! What _have _you done to your hair? Oh, don't worry, it looks nice. Now, now, what's this Ms. Lanston business? It's Auntie Daria, just as it's always been." The overenthusiastic blonde enveloped Riza in a gigantic hug, the gushing never stopping.

The rest of the group backed away as the sniper said, "We're here _professionally_, Aunt. Not on personal business." Riza gently extricated herself from the embrace. _She's my family, my only family. I love her, even if she can... annoy me, sometimes. _Daria had shown Riza that she genuinely cared- never the opposite. The older woman just didn't know how how to show affection any other way.

"Oh, but I'm sure your- uh- boss, commander? Oh, yes, commanding officer- will let you have some time off. Who's in charge of this?" Daria turned to the group. Roy hastily grabbed someone's suitcase and started walking away as Ed pointed to Mustang with a wicked smile. "He is, ma'am." The blonde shrimp said politely.

"Oh, thank you young man. And who might you be?"

"Edward Elric, Fullmetal Alchemist, ma'am."

"Oh, how nice. They sent a state alchemist! And such a renowned one, too."

"Thank you." Ed continued playing the courteous gentleman.

Daria turned the direction Ed had pointed. "Is that young Roy Mustang? Oh, everyone will be so happy! Both Elizabeth and mister Roy home for a while!"

_Geez, they weren't kidding about growing up here. But Daria seems too... aunt-ish... to be a murderer. Or a criminal. After all, she is the only family Lt. Hawkeye has. I don't know how this town'll take it if we start openly investigating her. Or arrest her. We really don't know anything yet, _Ed thought soberly.

_This is a tangled mess of coincidences that aren't, _Winry mused, inspecting the group of people in front of her. _There are more secrets here than we can find out- everyone needs to _share_ their secrets to make this work. We need to start trusting each other._

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End of Chapter

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Ending notes: sorry about any OoCness. There was a ton, I'm sure. Other notes:

**~I gu****arantee the next chapter will have a lot more pairings, more angst and drama, and more in-character characters.  
****~This chapter was mainl****y a tool chapter for setting and introducing my main OCs.**  
**~The OCs are not essential to the story, don't worry, just there to give some search-for-philosopher's-stone elements and to help the Royai and EdWin along.  
~Next chapter begins the REAL story. This chappie is the last of the 'exposition'. **

I love reviews, especially when they point out typos. :)

Thankies for reading,  
~Rina, aka AnimeFallingStar


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